Learning

I read this proverb and have to say, I’m not so sure it’s right. I think a lot of us want to sing, but we’re unsure what to sing and are a bit intimidated by the prospect of sharing our imperfect voices.

We resist even though numerous studies have shown the mental and physical health benefits of singing. We understand intellectually that singing creates stronger relationships between groups as … Read More...

As noted scientist Temple Grandin titled her book of the same name, animals make us human. This can seem a very strong statement until one watches children and notes their affinity for and curiosity about animals. Some kids watch creatures from a safe distance. Others are more forward and grab every cat or dog they can get close enough to to touch. Most children will add the names of animals to their first few words. However they show it, new … Read More...

We want to do so much to help our children, but life teaches us that their greatest gifts may be the intangible tools they carry inside themselves. Watching them, we see that some are born with a fully-stocked “toolchest” that will aid them on any path they choose. Other children seem to need a little more help, whether in recognizing what was there all along or in developing skills unfamiliar to their natures.

Is your crafting cupboard or drawer bursting with broken bits of crayons, uncapped, dried out markers, crumpled paper and bits of yarn all randomly stuck together with leaked glue from the left-open bottle? Does the sight of glitter and the memory of trying to clean it up bring tears to your eyes? Are you stifling frustration every time your child asks to paint? How is it that some people seem to be able to make craft time with their children … Read More...

Perhaps you have noticed with your children that as they pass into the early stages of puberty (the so-called tween phase) they lose some of the contentment that accompanies middle childhood. Our children were more likely to be “bored” or to flit disconsolately from one once-favored activity to another, unable to really settle down. In this stage, children begin to seek work that they can see has meaning and purpose; they’ve passed the joy found in imitating adult work and … Read More...

What is it about blocks that makes them one of the first toys babies play with, as well as an activity that children return to throughout childhood? You’ve seen your baby, only just having mastered sitting up, begin to stack two or three blocks together. You’ve seen your toddler building the tallest tower they can manage, glorying in the crash when it tumbles down. And you’ve seen older children lost in their play as they maneuver their blocks this way … Read More...

“Trees are all different, as you know, and I am sure some tiresome person must have told you that there are no two blades of grass exactly alike. But in streets, where the blades of grass don’t grow, everything is like everything else. This is why so many children who live in towns are so extremely naughty.” – E. Nesbit, The Five Children and It

Even a century ago when Ms. Nesbit was writing, people were concerned about the amount … Read More...

Most children respond to music from their earliest days; parents’ rhythmic crooning soothes, at least momentarily, a newborn. A silly song or jumpy nursery rhyme can divert an upset toddler. A song with a strong beat can help a preschooler march along beside you as you try to finish a grocery trip. Up until about age 13, a long car ride can be made more pleasant by singing all these songs and more. We are born with music inside us, … Read More...

As you head into summer with your school-age children, you might be trying to find ways to support the academic advances they’ve made during the school year without making summer feel like an endless extension of school. Summer and other breaks are important for letting learning sink in, giving young minds time to mull over what they’ve covered in their school time and having plenty of free time to explore other interests. Still, there is evidence that shows that longer … Read More...

Maria Montessori, Rudolf Steiner and Charlotte Mason might not have agreed on many things regarding children and the best way to support their development. However, they all shared at least one similar premise, that children enjoy and even need work and other kinds of purposeful activity. They each had different ideas on how adults should meet this impulse but they all agreed it was there.

One place you might see it surface in your own children is through their … Read More...